The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies has recently completed a project on Muslim women who devoted themselves to the pursuit of Islamic learning during the early centuries of the Islamic era. The biographical dictionary of these women, compiled by Mohammad Akram Nadvi, runs into 40 volumes and provides the profiles of more than 8000 women scholars. The introductory volume, to be published shortly, is spread over 400 pages.

The study shows that these women distinguished themselves as teachers of the Holy Quran, narrators and transmitters of Hadith, and as jurists who issued legal edicts (fatwas). One of the biographical notices in the multi-volume study is on a 10th century female jurist in Baghdad who travelled through Syria and Egypt in pursuit of advanced learning in Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence. The study also provides the profile of an eminent female scholar who taught Hadith at the Prophet’s mausoleum in Madina.

It is highly significant that the first revelation to the Prophet—who was unlettered—exhorted him to read.

Read, in the name of thy
Lord Who created man out
of a leech-like clot.
Read, and thy Lord is Most
Bountiful, Who taught (man)
through the pen. He taught man
what he knew not (Quran 96:1-5)

Islam recognizes no distinctions based on lineage, class, position or wealth. The Quran explicitly declares that genuine faith, righteousness, piety and knowledge are the only criteria of honour and distinction (Quran 49:13; 58:11). Islam made the acquisition of knowledge obligatory on all Muslims, men and women, rich and poor, young and old. It made knowledge and learning accessible to one and all, regardless of the distinctions of class or gender.

After the demise of the Prophet, many from amongst his female Companions, especially his wives, were regarded as custodians of sacred knowledge. Among these the names of Aisha, Hafsa, Umm Habiba, Maymuna and Umm Salma are note-worthy. Aisha, the Mother of the Faithful, was one of the prolific narrators of Hadith. Jabir ibn Abd-Allah, one of the senior Companions of the Prophet, learnt Hadith from several Companions, including Umm Kulthum, the daughter of Abu Bakr. In subsequent years, Hafsa, the daughter of Ibn Sirin, Umm al-Darda and Amra, the daughter of Abd al-Rahman, acquired renown as reporters and narrators of Hadith. Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, the judge of Madina, was a disciple of Amra, the daughter of Abd al-Rahman, who was a distinguished narrator and teacher of Hadith. Caliph Umar ibn Abd al Aziz directed Ibn Hazm to collect and write down the Hadith narrated by her.

The other eminent narrators and teachers of Hadith among women included Abida al-Madaniyah, Abdah, the daughter of Bishr, Umm Umar al Thaqfiyah, Zaynab, the grand-daughter of Ali ibn Abd-Allah ibn Abbas, Nafisa, the daughter of Hasan ibn Ziyad, and Khadija Umm Muhammad. Abida, who was a slave girl of Muhammad ibn Yazid, had a keen interest in Hadith literature and narrated ten thousand Hadith on the authority of her teachers. The narrators and transmitters of Imam al-Bukhari’s classic work Al Jami’ al-Sahih included a number of women, such as Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, Shuhda, the daughter of Ahmad ibn al-Fraj, and Sitt al-Wuzara, the daughter of Umar.

Every important collection of Hadith contains the names of a fairly large number of female reporters and narrators. In the third and fourth centuries of the Islamic era, one comes across the names of a large number of women who acquired competence and proficiency in Hadith.

Every important collection of Hadith contains the names of a fairly large number of female reporters and narrators. In the third and fourth centuries of the Islamic era, one comes across the names of a large number of women who acquired competence and proficiency in Hadith. These included Fatima, the grand-daughter of Abu Dawud, Amat al-Wahid, the daughter of the celebrated jurist al-Muhamili, Umm al-Fath Amat al-Salam, the daughter of the judge Abu Bakr Ahmad, and Jamua, the daughter of Ahmad.

The renowned biographer and historian Ibn Sa’ad devoted the eighth volume of his monumental work Al-Tabaqat al-Kabir to the profiles of female narrators and teachers of Hadith. The volume contains the biographies of nearly 700 female narrators and transmitters of Hadith. Another renowned biographer and historian Ibn Hajar, in his authoritative biographical dictionary Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, has provided the biographies of 1543 female narrators of Hadith.

It is significant to note that even women from poor and the middle class households did not lag behind in the pursuit of learning. Thus, Kitab al-Amwal, a 9th century treatise on public taxation written by Abu Ubayd Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 838 A.D.), begins with the following words: Certified to have been read in the presence of the good and pious calligrapher, Professor Fakhrun-Nisa Shuhda, the daughter of the needle-maker Abu Nur Ahmad ibn al-Faraj ibn Umar al-Dinawari, at her house in Baghdad

It is significant to note that even women from poor and the middle class households did not lag behind in the pursuit of learning. Thus, Kitab al-Amwal, a 9th century treatise on public taxation written by Abu Ubayd Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 838 A.D.), begins with the following words: Certified to have been read in the presence of the good and pious calligrapher, Professor Fakhrun-Nisa Shuhda, the daughter of the needle-maker Abu Nur Ahmad ibn al-Faraj ibn Umar al-Dinawari, at her house in Baghdad.

During the early centuries of the Islamic era, a number of women delivered lectures on Hadith. Shuhda’s lectures and discourses on Hadith were attended by a large number of students, including both men and women. Sitt al-Wuzara, Umm al-Khayr, Amat al-Khaliq and Aisha, the daughter of Abd al-Hadi were well-known teachers of Hadith. Juwayria, the daughter of Umar and Zaynab, the daughter of Ahmad ibn Umar, used to deliver lectures on Hadith in Madina and Egypt. Students from distant lands flocked to attend their lectures. Fatimah, the daughter of the celebrated Sufi sage Hasan ibn Ali al-Daqqaq, Amat al-Wahid, the daughter of Qadi Abu Abd-Allah al-Husayn al-Hamili, Amat al-Salam, the daughter of Qadi Ahmad ibn Kamil, Fatima, the daughter of Ali ibn al-Muzaffar, Fatima, the daughter of Hasan ibn Ali al-Aqra’ and Karima al-Marwaziya were among the distinguished narrators and teachers of Hadith. Karima was considered a great authority on Imam Bukhari’s Al Jami’ al-Sahih. Those who obtained certificates (ijaza) from her included such distinguished scholars as Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 1070 A.D.) and Humaydi (d. 1095 A.D.), the famous traditionist of Andalusia. The celebrated historian and biographer Ibn Asakir (d. 1175 A.D.) studied Imam Malik’s Al-Muwatta under the guidance of Zaynab, the daughter of Abd al-Rahman. Jalaluddin al-Suyuti (d. 1505 A. D.) read Al-Risalah of Imam Shafi’i under the guidance of Hajar, the daughter of Muhammad. The renowned biographer Ibn Khallikan (d. 1282 A.D.) was a disciple of Zaynab, the daughter of Shari. The famous globe-trotter Ibn Battuta studied Hadith under the guidance of Zaynab, the daughter of Ahmad, during his stay in Damascus.

The publication of this multi-volume work by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies will mark a commendable service to Islam.